Woman sentenced to prison for shooting at officers
A woman accused of shooting at a Weld County deputy and two Firestone officers at a hotel in 2020 has been sentenced to prison.
Sarah Jesser, 44, was sentenced to 18 years in the Colorado Department of Corrections Thursday. Jesser had pleaded guilty in February to one count of second-degree attempted murder.
“The evidence spoke for itself,” Weld Chief Deputy District Attorney Anthony Perea said in a statement. “The defendant made it clear that she knew law enforcement was at her door. Yet she still made the deliberate decision to pull the trigger and shoot at officers when they entered her room.”
A Weld County Sheriff’s deputy was on patrol near the Econo Lodge, 10811 W. Interstate 25 Frontage Road, on Feb. 13, 2020, when the deputy noticed a license plate associated with Jesser, who was wanted on outstanding warrants. Two officers from the Firestone Police Department responded to the scene to assist.
Police said Jesser shot at the responding officers before one of the Firestone officers fired shots back, hitting and injuring Jesser.
That officer, whose name has not been released, was cleared of any wrongdoing by the Weld County District Attorney’s Office.
“Because of Ms. Jesser’s choices, every time I hear an officer or deputy dispatched to the Econo Lodge, my heart starts racing, my breathing gets faster, and my first thought is ‘please don’t let it happen again,’ the officer who fired said in a statement. “Everyone was lucky that day that no loss of life occurred; but due to Ms. Jesser’s choices, I get to experience nightmares when I am not fast enough and people die.”